‘They are really putting up a defensive effort this time around…’

The invasion of the United Element Sect continued into the lands that the demi-humans took over. It was a strange feeling for Zhang Dong that usually was the one on the defensive, there weren’t many times when he was the aggressor.

After they had managed to clear out the wyverns and their leader they continued to push deeper to the north. There they encounter more varied demi-human resistance. After the flying lizards, they encountered a batch of snake-people. They were similar to nagas or gorgons that he remembered from games and had female-looking upper bodies.

There was even a group of green skins that was similar to fantasy orcs or ogres. Together with some other remnants, they put up a defensive perimeter that blocked their advance. When looking at the map of the empire they all could tell that they were actually trying to halt their advance.

Yet the forces weren’t strong enough, at most they could put up a fight for half a day before pulling out. Each time they lost more than half of their forces, this only made sense if they were stalling for time. Ignoring this blocking effort wasn’t possible, the demi-humans would circle around and attack their backline if they were allowed to.

‘Should I go ahead by myself?’

His mind was filled with various troublesome thoughts. What if his enemies were transporting some kind of massive weapon through the bridge? What if that Emperor appeared out of the blue? But, could he just handle him alone when he arrived? If he got locked down by their leader then his whole army would collapse.

“Patriarch, we have a problem!”

“What is it now?”

“We have spotted tree-like beings trying to go through the lower bridge, they are trying to take back the fortress they lost!”

“A surprise attack from the back? Have the defenses fallen?”

Zhang Dong would have liked to use a teleport to travel to that area to help out but he needed to remain here. The main enemy hadn’t appeared and he was getting a feeling that this was only a diversion tactic.

“Our soldiers are managing it, the demi-humans are ferociously trying to get to the other side of the bridge but our forces are driving them back.”

“Good, monitor the situation, we must continue… and we must do it faster, I shall return to the fortress.”

The transmission to Zhang Kuo went silent while he decided to go to the engine room. With how things were progressing they might be running out of time. While he wanted to conserve his power for the final battle, to make it easier on his people they needed to advance faster.

“Everyone, this is your Patriarch, we will be pushing toward the enemy stronghold faster.”

After informing the people of his new plans he placed himself in a lotus position in front of the golden egg. From his spatial ring, he removed previously prepared golden pills that would boost his spiritual energy reserves. He had expected such a possibility and it was time to use up one of his trump cards.

A handful of those pills made their way into his mouth. Due to a recipe that he developed himself, they tasted like candy and made the process of eating a lot easier. His body began to rapidly give off a radiant glow as he pushed all of his holy energy into the improved fortress engine. With a new injection of power, the whole massive structure started vibrating and moving faster.

It was the slowest of the flying vessels in the armada but with the injection of more energy it could equal things out. The large anti-gravity ring that was humming under it began to get bigger and the speed increased to match the other ships. With the fortress moving, it brought along the giant barrier that would be hard to cross by the demi-human attackers.

Their trip continued with a lot of resistance from the combined tribe forces. They didn’t let up with the assaults but the powerful sect Elders along with Bahamut were enough to stop anyone from breaching inside the barrier. Together with the constant barrage of cannons they were making their way towards their destination.

Slowly but surely they were getting in range of the other demi-human base. Yet before they arrived the golden palace stopped glowing and the anti-gravity disc under it reverted to its previous state.

“I was too slow…”

Zhang Dong threw a batch of recovery pills down his gullet before quickly appearing outside. They had stopped above a destroyed city that was devoid of any life. He remembered this place, it belonged to the sect he visited when he was chasing after Wang Long. They had not heeded his warnings and didn’t retreat in time after he left and this was their fate.

This was not the reason why he stopped with his hasty approach. The reason was that he felt something, a powerful being had appeared and had managed to cross through the bridge at this very moment. When looking at the map that presented him with the enemy locations he could see a bright red dot that was previously not there.

‘Could that be their Emperor?’

The warning signals were going off in his head as he felt the massive amount of spiritual energy that this person had. Compared to the other demi-humans he was truly on another level. While everyone else was a body refiner without that much outward energy, he was different. The spiritual energy that he had was not inferior to his own, it might have even been slightly above Zhang Dong’s.

‘So this is one of the end bosses?’

Considering that this had been a scenario created by the person that made the system, one of these Emperors might have been the true last boss. They all could be at similar levels but perhaps one side was supposed to be defeated earlier than the others. Could this Demi-human Emperor be the true last boss or was he perhaps on the weaker end of the spectrum?

‘Lucius and Argus aren’t as strong as this guy… but they supposedly have a king that should be stronger.’

“We shall return to the previous formation, prepare for battle!”

He could contemplate all that he wanted but the battle needed to be fought. Even though the enemy had reached their side, getting here wasn’t a total waste. This Emperor was here but it seemed that a large chunk of their forces was still going through the bridge. While there they would not be able to pose a threat.

The first thing that he noticed when he was outside, was that the demi-humans that were trying to stop them all cleared out. It was as if they were inviting them towards their fortress that Zhang Dong could already see from this location.

‘That’s an ominous-looking tower… but it kind of looks, decrepit?’

The structure looked like it was hastily put together by people that didn’t know how to construct things. There was spiked iron wire everywhere, even the black stone walls were wrapped around it. The structures were large and gaudy with strange red tribal drawings everywhere. From what he could tell, this place belonged to the green-skinned demi-humans that were similar to orcs

‘So that’s their leader?’

Then he finally saw him, he was floating up in the sky on top of something that looked like a chariot made from thick bronze-like metal. The person riding it was wearing a similar bronze armor that was probably made from some kind of superior metal. It wasn’t shiny, instead it seemed to be covered by dried-up blood and scratches from bladed weapons.

On top of his head, he was wearing a large helmet that was similar to ancient roman ones the remembered from some old history lessons. Yet the most characteristic thing about this man were the three protruding horns that made him look like some kind of demon.

‘Does that make him three times as strong as the other leader types?’

Even without getting closer, he could tell that this being was more than twice his size, probably over four meters tall. The horses that were pulling this chariot that seemed to have been lifted from a Roman arena were even bigger than their master was. Yet his appearance was similar to a human's, with the exception of the horns and mouth filled with pointy teeth.

“So, my prey has appeared before me, this does please me.”

Before he could examine his opponent further he heard him speak. Even though they were many kilometers away from each other, he could hear his voice clearly. It carried power along with his Dao which caused the earth to quake. This quickly gave a read on the man’s abilities which were something that he didn’t encounter before.

“Turn back if you wish to spare your and your people's lives. There is nothing that awaits you here but death.”

“Hah, you wish me to return, where is the fun in that? Only when a warrior encounters their equal can they truly become alive! Now come, entertain me, my prey. I hope you won’t be another disappointment like the ones that came before you.”

There were two large armies on both sides. His side possessed the numerical advantage but the demi-humans outperformed the average soldier. In a direct battle, the enemy would be superior but his side had various other pieces of equipment to make up for their lack in combat strength.

Yet they were the aggressors this time around, they needed to secure the bridge and block it from ever being used by the demi-humans. That their Emperor appeared was always a possibility but luckily his eyes were only focused on Zhang Dong. This only made the next decision easier.

“Kuo, I’ll leave the fortress in your care, I will lure their leader to a secluded location.”

“But Patriarch…”

“Follow my orders, if we both fight here our forces will be caught in the middle, without their leader their forces shouldn’t be difficult to handle, I trust in you and the elders to be victorious.”

This time around he would need to give it all, Bahamut quickly flew over to its master to act as a proper mount. The demi-human Emperor was fast approaching, with each step in the air those massive horses took, the whole area started shaking. It was as if they were running on the ground and crushing it at the same time.

After appearing on Bahamut’s neck both of them left the safety of the protective barrier. Just as he had theorized the enemy Emperor instantly gave chase to where he disappeared to. Soon enough both of them found themselves in a desolate area with nothing but earth and rubble, it was time for the showdown between the two leaders to finally start.